Dance With Me By Moonlight
by Purple Mongoose
Summary: A piano song by moonlight leads to a tender dance that neither Roger nor Dorothy is likely to forget. [Complete]


Dance With Me By Moonlight  
  
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Summary: A piano song by moonlight leads to a tender dance that neither Roger nor Dorothy is likely to forget...W[arm] A[nd] F[uzzy] F[eeling] alert! Angel/Roger (0o;;) fans beware; Dorothy/Roger fans rejoice! (I know you're out there...I just don't have any proof.)  
  
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"Who can give a law to lovers? Love is a greater law unto itself."  
~Ancius Boethius  
  
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The silver strains of a soft melody flowed quietly into his room, the sounds light and airy, as if the keys were very gently being depressed. Sprawled under the navy blue sheets, he closed his eyes shut tighter, trying to dispel the disquieting music futilely. Every note, however, eased its way into his ears, between his lanky fingers, into the light pink shell that was his ear. After another moment's worth of half-hearted struggling, he gave up and settled down into the mattress, put at ease by the loving song that, no doubt, Dorothy was playing expertly off the music sheets.   
  
A shaft of moonlight slanted onto his pillow from the small window by his bed, glowing teasingly silver and sparkling coyly. Sitting up, he smiled lopsidedly as he leaned to look out the window at the full moon, beautiful like an ice queen dancing dreamily across the velvet sky, surrounded by the diamond gleams of her many children. Roger could remember his mother and father dancing under the moon when he was small, only five. Mother in her petite green dress-suit swirling about her legs and hips, broad shoulders covered by a knit shawl to protect her fragile health...Father would have the top buttons of his dress shirt unbuttoned, his tie undone and loosely hanging off his neck...they'd both be in socks or barefoot and Norman would be playing the piano as Roger looked on with delight...he'd ask mother to dance with him and she'd laugh, whispering as she bent over to dance, "Someday you'll find your own moon-maiden, Roger."   
  
There was a sudden stinging in his eyes and he absently scrubbed at them with the back of his hand. The composition Dorothy was playing began to slow, and it shifted from sweet and shy to melancholy and longing. It was the kind of music that brought sorrow to the soul and it sounded like nothing he had heard before in his life. Was Dorothy...sad?  
  
Normally, he would have brushed it off as absurd and gone straight to sleep, but he felt lonely as well...and, if the old adage were to be true, misery, indeed, would love to have company. So it was that the broad-shouldered man flung aside sheets and covers to swing his long legs over the side of the bed, slipping his feet into dark blue slippers, scarred forever by the chew marks of Perot along the length of the left one.   
  
Roger opened the separating door with as little noise as he could, stepping soundlessly into the piano foyer, his messy raven-black hair glinting softly.   
  
Dorothy was bent over the piano, lithe and delicate in her way, covered by a flannel black nightgown, loose black slippers, also marred by the sadly late Perot's teeth, coating her small feet. She had a look of concentration and an air of sadness, emotions showing clearly in the way her face contorted and the way she held her body.   
  
As he watched her, he idly remembered an old conversation. He'd asked her why she had to sleep when she was an android, and she had replied by saying that even androids needed rest.  
  
He could read fatigue, he noticed, almost perfectly concealed. Oh, God, how he wanted suddenly to hold her and tell her it was all right...what am I thinking?, he thought desperately, biting his tongue. He wasn't thinking clearly, it was just the fog of sleeplessness...  
  
She stopped playing. Fingers paused above the false ivory keys, she spun around sharply to face him, worn eyes staring enigmatically at him. Moonlight hazed behind her, like a shimmering halo glistening off her white, synthetic flesh and the carrot colored hair framing her face, ending in slight curves at the birth of her lower jaw. "Roger," she said, tasting the word achingly, "why are you up at this hour?"  
  
"I," he retorted, running a hand unconsciously through his hair, "could ask you the same thing." Glancing at the small music stand crafted into the piano itself, he was startled to see there wasn't a single sheet of music. Was she making it up...?  
  
After a moment's silence, she placed a hand back on the keys, etching and carving out a new melody, low and plaintive, full of a keening hollowness that pervaded the night air. "I was thinking," Dorothy answered slowly. She paused and returned her attention to the piano, other hand seeking out the higher notes to add a wailing sort of reedy wishing. "Of many things," she continued, "like Perot. And Father. And the moon..."   
  
And you, she added mentally, though her dignity refused her the right to tell him what she wanted to say.  
  
"I suppose I was thinking, too," Roger confessed, striding across the room in literal leaps and bounds, to sit on the polished cherry oak bench beside her.  
  
"Of what things?" Dorothy questioned.  
  
He took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Y'know what?" he changed the subject unintentionally, staring out into space. "I was thinking about my parents." He ducked his head, staring blindly at his folded hands lying in his lap. "My mother used to dance with my father...," he cleared his throat, "when the moon shone into this foyer and after he got home from work. Norman would play lots of old songs on this piano...jazz, Motown, classical stuff like Mozart, and sometimes a few lullabies whenever I absolutely refused to go to bed." Roger lifted his face and laughed, lit inside by the memories. "My mother was beautiful, but she got some kind of illness when I was born, so the dancing was the most exercise she did. Father called her his moon-maiden and he wasn't really comely, he looked...normal. But they were perfect. And..." His throat contracted and tears once again stung Roger's eyes. "I miss them so much..."  
  
Barely containing the sobs that threatened to engulf him, he felt Dorothy lift his hands up in hers, squeezing them comfortingly.  
  
Roger glanced up and he saw her smile, a rare, if not extinct, phenomena. "Come, Roger Smith," she said gently, "dance with me by moonlight."  
  
Helpless, but not exactly struggling, he got to his feet with her, shyly holding out his arms. She smiled again and he wondered if, maybe, he was judging her a little too harshly. If Instro could be human, why couldn't Dorothy?  
  
The moon sung her melodious song, smiling sweetly at the two, swaying in place, white to tan, red to black.   
  
Roger began to realize something as he held Dorothy, moving across the floor together. Holding Dorothy wasn't like holding Angel. Dorothy, shining as if she were the Greek goddess Selena personified in his arms, was...right. She was smaller, for sure, but there wasn't anything stressed or uncomfortable in his heart. He felt at ease, soothed by her presence even as he felt enraged at times, heart racing and voice reprimanding her.  
  
As she, Dorothy, twirled on her own, still firmly grasping one of his larger hands, he saw something he'd been to blind to see before. The glow lighting her face wasn't moonlight. It was something else, something deliciously unnerving, intoxicatingly pure.  
  
"Someday you'll find your own moon-maiden, Roger."  
  
Acting on impulse, driven by memories of his parents kissing beneath the moon's glow, he leaned down, pulling both himself and Dorothy to a stop, and he brushed his lips across hers, feeling the strange warmth she had.  
  
Thought processes screeched to a stumbling halt and, as Dorothy drew away, tapping her toe on the planks of the floor and curtsying, dipping her head while avoiding his glance, his soul began anew. Was that it? Was _that_ it?   
  
Damn it, was he going insane?  
  
No, not insane, he knew that. With new eyes he saw her dip again before turning on her heel and padding hurriedly off to her own bedchambers, to the serene sanctuary of her own haven.  
  
A smile blossomed timidly on his face, and he abruptly sat back down on the bench, back to the keys.   
  
And then, shifting into a more correct position, Roger moved his fingers, trying to recapture the magic of the moonlight and his moon-maiden.  
  
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owari  
  
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AN: Sorry that was so short! Has anyone else noticed it takes thirty minutes to write these things, and then people finish them in, like, three minutes? It makes you feel humble, doesn't it, my fellow writers...  
  
Anywho, since I got MANY reviews for "Human" (36?! There has to be a typo! I've never gotten that many that fast!...heck, even as PallaPlease, I don't think I've gotten that many...) and LOTS of encouragement, I'm recognizing ya'll! (Oh, heck, if there was only one reviewer, I'd have recognized you anyway!)  
  
So, here's to:  
  
lady- Domo arigatou! This fic was some more, I hope!  
  
Anna- Cool! So, here's a fic you'll hopefully be watching for! Hey, you're name's a lot like my real one...  
  
Kodra- Thanks! Two exclamation marks! I GOT _TWO_ EXCLAMATION MARKS!!  
  
Meelo Yuy- Don't worry, "Human" has a sequel to be posted in about five minutes. (Which, basically, means by the time you might be reading this, the sequel will already be up for "Human".) What you mean...are you referring to lime? Lemon? GIANT PURPLE MONGEESE?! (I happen to love mongeese/mongooses, by the way.)  
  
WZC- Wow! You agree? Cool! I was expecting a lot of people to disagree...  
  
Loneliestnumber- Ooo! Didja get your name from that really good oldies song? You know, 'one is the loneliest number that you'll ever know'? I love that song! And, yes, I suggested the Big O section and I thank ya for the compliment!  
  
SSVegmako- I know. Angel annoys me. She's such a shallow, selfish, exploitive, disgusting woman-thing, isn't she? She acts like she's tough, but the first sign of danger, she screams and cowers. (I'm a 13-year old gold-blonde girl who HATES it when anime blondes act all 'weak' and etc.) Erm...  
  
Ichigo Aino- You really think it was nice? Sugoi!  
  
the critic- She does?! Get ready, VCR, you're taping Episode/Act 09, like it or not! *cackles madly* I have PROO~OOF!! I have PROO~OOF!!  
  
Bunny- I've written more! This and a sequel to "Human" from Roger's POV! You may rejoice! *Muses (primarily the red-haired, black-winged, Russian fairy-boy, Ryan) chuck a bowling ball at Purple Mongoose* IEEE!! Okay, okay, I'll squish my ego!  
  
Athena- 10/10?! WOOHOO!! This going to go straight to my head, you know. And, why, yes, indeedy-deed, I'm writing more!  
  
LAURA- I wanna join! I wanna join! Do I get some of those shipper flags? I love shipper flags! See my Chang Wufei X Dorothy Catalonia flags? Proud to support 5xD in the GW-verse!  
  
Brendy- Yes!! I noticed that right away and I annoyed the heck outta my friend, SpazSailor, by telling her over and over about the implications of that scene...sugoi! Holy cow! You're right! That _is_ Kiyone's dub voice! I can't stand Kiyone...she's so mean to poor Mihoshi! And, hai, Dorothy _did_ rip up the card, at least that's what the scene sets up for. I don't think Norman or Roger would do that, Norman 'cause he's so dang cool and Roger because he was (unfortunately) attracted to Angel in the beginning. Fortunately, Roger's a smart boy and he learned what's what by the end of Episode/Act 07.  
  
T'ai- Somebody loves it! Domo arigatou!  
  
Big O Fan- Here's the new fanfiction...  
  
Ephelus- Aw, shucks! I'm not that good! I was afraid I didn't delve deep enough into Dorothy's psyche, but I'm confident now! Thank-ye so much!  
  
GK- Nope, you're not alone. We've got at least 35 people here, by tallying my vote and 34 of the reviewers...  
  
JadeFlamez- Angel really is a fallen angel. And, yes, 'ewww' is quite correct. *ducks attacks by angry Angel fans*  
  
Reboot2000- Wait no longer! Here it be, in its entirety! Say, do you like ReBoot, too? I love that show! I saw it when I was, what, five? When Cartoon Network began airing it, I watched it fanatically. I like Enzo in that one episode where Dot sees the possible future...he's so weird and funny! Gangster Enzo! Hee-hee!   
  
Waku-chan- I like cute fics. ;} Happy-happy-joy-joy fics are about the only ones I can write normally. Every now-and-then, you angst-lovers will get a serious dosage of overwhelming sorrow in a fic of mine...but optimists can't stray far from WAFF!  
  
pizzamon- You got it! Do you watch Digimon, perchance? Digimon's the reason why I signed up my original penname! I love that anime!  
  
Aoi Kitsune- Be happy you don't know much about Angel! And, by the way, cool name. *&.^* D'you know Shippou from Inu-Yasha? He's such a cute widdle kitsune...  
  
Lady Tyria- Wow! Blatant praise! I don't know if I deserve it, but, heck...thanks a million!  
  
Zero- I agree. It *is* about time. For what? A Big O fic/section? A Dorothy/Roger romance? Well, the thought is, you reviewed! Yay!  
  
Skyrocket- Sugoi! Domo arigatou! Konban wa! Er...ignore that last one, okay? Thanksies!  
  
CP- I like Lois Lane! But, however, I don't like Angel...by the way, I adored your Big O fanfic! It's absolutely lovely!  
  
tenshi no ai- Haven't a clue, but, judging by websites I've visited, yes, Dorothy's mannerisms stayed the same. And, one of these days, I'll get around to buying the Evangelion manga...I love manga! Even more than anime! But not as much as God!  
  
Steve Conte- Here's mote! 'Kay?  
  
Sparkle- Angel fan complimented me! Whoa, that's cool. Gracias, senorita! (Or senor...or senora...)   
  
*~*Eiez*~*- Keep supporting your coupling, even if I don't. (What?) I know what it's like to support the less-liked couple...I am PROUD to write Daikari fanfiction! Dangit, I support Daisuke X Hikari stuff!  
  
erica- Domo arigatou! Now, to write on my Cherry Project fic...  
  
michelle- Here's another! Thanks for supporting!  
  
Teresa- I know! Angel uses Roger so obviously! And I quite agree. R. Dorothy 'n' Roger for-evah!  
  
Rinoa Heartilly- I loved the ending of Wednesday's episode because Roger has that line about exploiting memories that's obviously pointed towards a pissed off Angel.  
  
Hildebrant- Let's pray your prediction doesn't come true! Please elt there be Dorothy/Roger stuff...  
  
Vern- Well, here's another! This one's more focused on Roger, as you've seen...but either way, I still support da couple!  
  
  
Thank-you all! Love ya! (Happy Easter and Resurrection Day!)  
  
Purple Mongoose/PallaPlease.  
  
  
Visit:  
http://users.powernet.co.uk/shoujo/tvdb/tvdb162.htm  
for a small review of Big O, with comments on Dorothy and Roger's relationship on it.  
  
Visit:  
http://www.animejump.com/cgi-bin/go.cgi?=features/big-o/big-o  
for everything Big O, from manga to dub interviews!  
  
Ja mata, minna-san! 


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